432 Environmental Psychology
that have specific characteristics and are typically named,
such as Soho), nodes (e.g., intersections, plazas), and land-
marks (e.g., reference points for the majority of people).
Furthermore, one can distinguish sequential representa-
tions (i.e., elements that the individual encounters when trav-
eling from one point of the city to another, rich in paths and
nodes) and spatial representations emphasizing landmarks
and districts (Appleyard, 1970). Cognitive maps will vary,
for example, as a function of familiarity with the city and
stage in the life cycle. Such maps can be used to characterize
either an individual’s specific environment interests or pref-
erences (Milgram & Jodelet, 1976) or the qualities and legi-
bility of a particular environment (Gärling & Evans, 1991;
Kitchen, Blades, & Golledge, 1997). Way finding is a com-
plex process involving a variety of cognitive operations such
as localization of the target and choosing the route and the
type of transportation to reach the goal (Gärling, Böök, &
Lindberg, 1986). Sketch maps often carry typical errors that
point to the cognitive elaboration of the individual’s environ-
mental representation: nonexhaustive, spatial distortions (too
close, too apart), simplification of paths and spaces, and over-
estimation of the size of familiar places.
Environmental Evaluations
What factors are important in people’s evaluation of the built
and natural environment, and how satisfied are they with dif-
ferent environments and environmental conditions? Some
environmental evaluations, called the place-centered method,
focus on the objective physical properties of the environment
such as pollution levels or the amount of urban development
over the previous 10 years. The aim is to measure the quali-
ties of an environment by experts or by actual or potential
users. Such evaluations are done without taking into account
the referential framework of the evaluator (i.e. the values,
preferences, or significations attached to the place). These
kinds of appraisals are important, but when it is remembered
that what may be an environmental problem for one person
may be of no consequence to another, it is clear that environ-
mental assessment has an important subjective dimension as
well. This person-centered method focuses on the feelings,
subjective appreciation of, and satisfaction with a particular
environment (Craik & Zube, 1976; Russell & Lanius, 1984).
Some environmental appraisals take the form of contrast-
ing social categories such as architects versus the public
(Groat, 1994; Hubbard, 1994) or scientists versus laypeople
(Mertz, Slovic, & Purchase, 1998) or of categorizing people
who hold particular attitudes (e.g., pro- vs. anticonservation;
Nord, Luloff, & Bridger, 1998). The focus of attention is on
the role the individual occupies or the attitudes held and the
consequent effect that this has on environmental attitudes and
behavior.
Evaluations can be carried out either in the environment
that is being evaluated or through simulations. Horswill and
McKenna (1999) developed a video-based technique for
measuring drivers’ speed choice, and their technique has the
advantage of maintaining experimental control and ensuring
external and ecological validity. They found that speed
choice during video simulation related highly to real driving
experiences. Research consistently confirms color pho-
tographs as a valid measure of on-site response, especially
for visual issues (Bateson & Hui, 1992; Brown, Daniel,
Richards, & King, 1988; Nasar & Hong, 1999; Stamps,
1990). Stamps (1990) conducted a meta-analysis of research
that had previously used simulated environments to measure
perceptions of real versus photographed environments (e.g.,
presented as slides, color prints, and black-and-white prints).
He demonstrated that there is highly significant correlation
between evaluations of real and simulated (photographed)
environments. The advent of digital imaging means that it is
now possible to manipulate photographs so that environ-
ments can be changed in a systematic and highly convincing
way in order to assess public preferences and reactions. The
photographs in Figure 17.1 were manipulated with the inten-
tion of assessing the impact of different traffic calming mea-
sures on drivers’ estimates of speed (Uzzell & Leach, 2001).
The research demonstrated that drivers clearly were able
to discriminate between the different conditions presented in
manipulated photographs. When estimated speeds were cor-
related against actual speeds along the road as it exists at pre-
sent, this suggested which design solutions would lead to an
increase or decrease in speeding behavior.Transactional ApproachesThree approaches are discussed here as examples of transac-
tional approaches in environmental psychology: Barker’s
behavior setting approach; affordances; and place theory,
identity, and attachment.Barker’s Behavior SettingsBarker’s behavior settings approach has both a theoretical
and methodological importance because it provides a frame-
work for analyzing the logic of behavior in particular set-
tings. Barker (1968, 1990) considered the environment as a
place where prescribed patterns of behavior, called programs,
occur. There is a correspondence between the nature of the
physical milieu and a determined number and type of collec-
tive behavior taking place in it. According to ecological